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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23775724">losing my breath, at your glance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_drive/pseuds/HarmfulCoconut'>HarmfulCoconut (bad_drive)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red Velvet (K-pop Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Boom comes Seulgi, But every single date is a fail, F/F, Fluff, Irene goes on a bunch of Tinder dates, It's a light and fun story idk why it's taking me so long to finish this, Some Humor, Suho and Jennie are Irene's best friends, They give her some suggestions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:14:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23775724</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_drive/pseuds/HarmfulCoconut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>in a world where joohyun goes through an extensive series of unsuccessful dates on Tinder and decides to call it quits. </p><p>so, what happens when she is set up by her two best friends instead?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>76</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            “Listen, I started my own company the second I graduated from high school. I’m basically a millionaire now, don’t you know? I have a lot of money and I am super successful. My airfare to New York was paid for back then just to meet a couple of investors.”</p><p>            She nodded absentmindedly. “Ah.”</p><p>            “You know what’s so funny? I was bullied back in high school, and now that they know I’m so successful, they act like they’re my friend.” The haughty man swirled the red wine and took a gulp. He hissed and slightly tilted his head to the side, emitting a short scoff. “Buncha fakes, y’know.”</p><p>            “Interesting. So, your family…tell me a bit about them.”</p><p>            The man slicked back the side of his gelled hair and smirked. “I’m a great family man. I help my mom every day with whatever she needs. I even bought her a house the other day so that she can finally get the freedom she wants and so she can stop working. Don’t want to keep the one who raised you working to the bone, do we?”</p><p>            “That’s great to hear,” she said, sipping on her own red wine. The amount was decreasing faster than it was supposed to be.</p><p>            She stroked the back of her iPhone resting on the fine table a few times, leaning her chin into her other hand. This man kept talking and talking about his wealth and properties…</p><p>            “My mom loves me for sure.” He smirked and leaned back into his chair, unbuttoning the one button that kept his maroon blazer together. There was this action that he always did before he boasted about himself—he would stroke his chin with his forefinger and thumb before flashing his pearly whites. <em>And</em> he just did that again. “My little brother relies on me a lot, so I give him some money. Whatever keeps him out of trouble, y’know. He’s in high school right now.”</p><p>            The young woman he was trying to impress nodded once before peering down below at the back of her phone again. She gently touched the base of the glass of wine and swirled the crimson liquid.</p><p>            “So, do you have any hobbies? Is there something you—”</p><p>            “Oh, my hobbies include stocks. Invest, invest, invest. You never know when you’re going to run out of money, so it’s good to make some investments. I have a lot of money now, but because I’m supporting my family so much, it’s going to run out before you know it. That’s why I—”</p><p>            The woman’s phone rang loudly between the two, effectively cutting the man off his drawn-out explanation.</p><p>            “If you will excuse me,” she politely said. She didn’t take a glance at the caller ID before she softly greeted, “Hello?”</p><p>            <em>“Joohyun! There’s an emergency! You have to help me out right now, please!”</em></p><p>Said Joohyun took a glance at her date, who evidently heard the commotion going on over the phone call. Joohyun’s friend bore a loud voice, and in times of crisis, it was much louder. Credits to Apple for creating such a magnificent speaker system.</p><p>            Joohyun cleared her throat. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>            <em>“I’m stuck in the middle of the road and my car won’t start! You have jumper cables, don’t you? Can you lend me a hand, pretty please? I’ll treat you out to your favorite after this.”</em></p><p>Joohyun briefly glanced at the plate before her. A dent was barely made.</p><p>            Her weary date looked at her every now and then as he continued to eat his fancy steak dinner. It was almost gone as was his glass of wine.</p><p>            “Okay, I got it. Give me a few,” she said.</p><p>            <em>“Thank you so much! You’re the best!”</em></p><p>Joohyun ended the call and lowered her phone down into her bag. “I’m so sorry, I have to cut this date a little short. One of my good friends is having an emergency.”</p><p>            “Is she okay? Do you need help? I can definitely help you out, I know a lot about car problems.”</p><p>            One of the corners of Joohyun’s mouth twitched up. He had evidently overheard Joohyun’s friend’s issue, but she figured it wasn’t on purpose. Her phone was loud anyway. “Don’t worry about it. This can be handled easily.”</p><p>            “Are you sure? You can’t go out there alone without a man. Your friend needs help jumping her car, doesn’t she?”</p><p>            Joohyun ignored his exhaustive comments and questions and proceeded to scoot her chair back to stand up. “John, is it?”</p><p>            He nodded.</p><p>            “For your record, I have jumped many cars before in my lifetime. Maybe you would have known if you stopped talking about yourself for once,” Joohyun retorted.</p><p>            John’s jaw dropped.</p><p>            It was the first time he had heard her rashly speak more than a few words that night. Her tone was usually polite and gentle, at least that was what he initially thought.</p><p>            “You wouldn’t mind paying for this dinner with all the money you have, would you?” Joohyun asked. She smiled at him. “It’s the least you can do. You know…as a <em>man</em>.”</p><p>            John remained silent and finally closed his mouth. “O-Of course. Wouldn’t let the girl pay on a first date.”</p><p>            “<em>Only</em> date,” Joohyun confirmed, almost rolling her eyes at the underlying patriarchal standards this man had. “Bye, John.”</p><p>            Her heels clacked down the velvet carpet of the five-star restaurant. She didn’t so much as spare the haughty, arrogant date a glance because she was certain it would be the very last time she would see him.</p><p>**</p><p>            The second Joohyun exited the double doors of the restaurant, widely known for their juicy and tender steak and mashed potatoes, she released a heavy breath of air.</p><p>            “I couldn’t even enjoy the steak,” she grumbled.</p><p>            Her posture effortlessly deflated into a more comfortable, slumped position, and she proceeded to jog to the other side of the street where her savior was. So-called savior whipped around from sitting on the hood of the sleek, black car to standing and smirking at the sight of an irritated Joohyun.</p><p>            “Another rough one,” they commented.</p><p>            “Obviously,” Joohyun groaned. “I only took <em>one</em> bite of the steak at the beginning of the date, and mind you it was so fuckin’ good, but then he kept on talking and talking about himself to the point where I got so frustrated and couldn’t keep an appetite anymore and it was such a waste of food, but I made that asshole paid for it, so it’s whatever.”</p><p>            Joohyun’s friend gradually nodded at everything she said. As soon as Joohyun was done ranting about John, who only cared about himself and his money, the other woman delivered a comforting smile.</p><p>            “Thank you for saving me, Jennie,” she finally mumbled.</p><p>            “Again.”</p><p>            Joohyun closed her eyes. Right. “Yes. Again.”</p><p>            “Anyway. Tteokbokki at Mama’s?”</p><p>            “<em>Yes please,</em>” Joohyun drawled out and climbed into the passenger’s seat of Jennie’s sedan.</p><p>            Jennie twisted the ignition key a few times, but all her car did in response was whir at her. She tried it once more. Frustrated, her grip tightened on top of the steering wheel, and she forced the key all the way to the right once more.</p><p>            Her car was giving up on her.</p><p>            “Looked like I really needed that jump.”</p><p>            Joohyun could only lean back and hang her head in defeat.</p><p>**</p><p>            Joohyun and Jennie were able to safely arrive at the street market before midnight, all thanks to another savior of Joohyun’s.</p><p>            “Thank you again, Myeonnie,” Joohyun expressed her gratitude. “Two saviors in one night, I didn’t know I was such a damsel in distress.”</p><p>            Joohyun, Jennie, and newly added Junmyeon were leisurely pacing down the lively street market to one of their favorite street vendors, who was affectionately known as “Mama Lu.” Mama Lu served the best tteokbokki in town—actually, more like the entire country. Joohyun had her fair share of tteokbokkis and by far Mama Lu’s was still the best. It was comforting, something that was lacking in the other dishes she tried.</p><p>            Junmyeon shrugged. “I wasn’t doing much anyway, so it’s not a problem.”</p><p>            “I think you need to stop going on Tinder,” Jennie told Joohyun.</p><p>            Joohyun heaved a sigh. Tinder was one of the dating applications that Joohyun was on, and it was the most popular. She had a lot of love interests hitting her up on that app, so she thought that with the vast amount of quantity, there was bound to be at least <em>one</em> or <em>two</em> she could comfortably hit it off with.</p><p>            “I don’t know how you two can do dating apps,” said Junmyeon. “It’s so scary. What if they catfish you? Or worse, what if they kidnap you and, and do something b-bad!”</p><p>            Junmyeon was effortlessly a scaredy cat, but it was reasonable. He did make a good point about the dangerous, dark side of dating applications, but Joohyun and Jennie were fortunate enough to not have experienced that yet. The worst date for Joohyun had to be this young man, who was in his last year of college, because he showed up to the date in a graphic tee, ripped jeans, and a backwards snapback, was terribly rude to the waitress and couldn’t even pay for his portion of the meal, and always talked about how pretty Joohyun was and nothing more.</p><p>            Joohyun despised it the most when potential dates rave about her beauty. She was not going to lie, she knew she was attractive in her own right and could effortlessly become one of those K-Pop idols whose faces she would see in commercials and billboards, but she had bigger and better things for her future. But when all her dates could only say “Wow, you’re so pretty…how can you get so pretty? What do you do to get this pretty? My mom would love you a lot because you’re so pretty” it could get irritating fast.</p><p>            Because they truly had nothing else to talk about.</p><p>            Men could get so boring.</p><p>            “Honestly, I might lay off on the dating apps a little bit,” said Joohyun. “It has been one too many where these guys want to do nothing but bang me, and they only go through a dinner out of courtesy.”</p><p>            “Didn’t Jennie get you out of these dates a lot?” asked Junmyeon.</p><p>            “<em>Oh</em>, God,” Jennie interjected and groaned. “I’ve lost count how many times I had to call her and act like I was in some kind of trouble.”</p><p>            “But this time you actually did need help,” Junmyeon remarked and laughed.</p><p>            “Okay, that, I do not understand. My baby is only three years old, how did the battery die so fast already!?”</p><p>            They reached Mama Lu’s stall where three customers had just left the bar. Only four people could sit at the bar at a time, but other customers were more than welcomed to order the tteokbokki to-go and stand within proximity to eat. Joohyun, Jennie, and Junmyeon sat on the high stools at the bar, which garnered Mama Lu’s attention.</p><p>            “Ah, my favorite customers!” she exclaimed. “Pretty, pretty Joohyun. You had a terrible date again, didn’t you?”</p><p>            Joohyun pouted. “How did you know, Mama?”</p><p>            Mama Lu jutted out her lower lip and nodded her head at them, more particularly at Joohyun’s attire. Joohyun was the only one out of the three to be in a lovely, strapless, white dress and heels whereas Jennie and Junmyeon were in casual clothing.</p><p>            Mama Lu was right. Most of the times, Joohyun was at the stall after a terrible date to destress from what had just occurred or to fill up her tummy with something that was more appetizing, because by the time she had escaped from her date, she would get famished.</p><p>            “Mama, he was <em>terrible</em>,” Jennie informed. “He only talked about himself and how much money he had!”</p><p>            “Ugh, those men are the worst, aren’t they?” Mama Lu muttered. She was in her small kitchen with one other young worker moving to and from to whip up three delicious plates of tteokbokki. “You know, my good friend’s son is available. He is very handsome, smart, knows how to treat others well. Why don’t I hook you two up?”</p><p>            On any other day, Joohyun would gratefully agree. However, she didn’t feel like she was dating material anymore. Honestly, she wished she could just marry one of her best friends and get it over with already. Eventually they would fall in love, right? They were already comfortable to begin with, but if she had engaged with a close friend on a more intimate basis, some feelings would surely develop.</p><p>            But it was extremely rare for that to happen if there weren’t any romantic feelings before, which was why she opted to online dating applications.</p><p>            “No, thank you, Mama. I think I’m going to stop for a little bit,” she mumbled. “I have no faith in men now.”</p><p>            “Date a girl, then,” Junmyeon joked.</p><p>            Date a girl?</p><p>            Joohyun furrowed her brows.</p><p>            Why hadn’t she thought about that?</p><p>            There were plenty of women she had come across who were beautiful, funny, and nice. Nine times out of ten, they would let her be the one to talk their heads off, and Joohyun loved to go on and on about something she was passionate about. She would love to date a girl, but only if she found herself romantically interested in one.</p><p>            “You know, I might actually consider that,” she stated.</p><p>            Jennie and Junmyeon jolted in their seats; Jennie’s eyes were wide, and Junmyeon’s jaw dropped.</p><p>            “I was just joking, but are you for real?”</p><p>            “It’s hard, though,” said Joohyun. “The girls are actually catty or envious of me, so they have some kind of hatred, or they become my close friends. I don’t date close friends.”</p><p>            “Maybe you aren’t looking in the right area,” Jennie noted. “Change your settings on Tinder to just girls.”</p><p>            Joohyun lingered around for a little bit longer, pondering on the idea. It was not a bad idea at all. She had more interest in men than women, but she wasn’t completely cut out from the notion of dating a woman. It was just that the only time she had the thought of dating a girl was back in high school where she desperately wanted to befriend a girl in her class. She liked purple because of her, she pretended to lose her gym clothes so she could borrow hers, and she tried all she could to go over to her house to hang out. The thought was cut short because that friend was confessed to by a crush and they got into a relationship that was still going strong to this day.</p><p>            “I think I might just do that.” Joohyun nodded and pulled out her phone. “In fact, I’ll do that right now.”</p><p>            As she busied herself with the settings on the dating app, Mama Lu planted three steaming plates of tteokbokki on the top shelf of the bar.</p><p>            “Here you all are!” she announced. Jennie and Junmyeon’s eyes brightened at the sight of the tteokbokki drenched in delicious, mild sauce, graciously taking their plates. Jennie placed Joohyun’s plate in front of hers. “Joohyun, I feel bad for you about your dates. This one’s on me.”</p><p>            Joohyun looked up from her phone. She placed it faced down onto the counter after having finished changing the settings.</p><p>            “No, no, Mama, I can’t do that to you! It’s just my bad luck.”</p><p>            Mama Lu waved it off. “Ay, don’t worry about it. We had a good night tonight; we can spare a few plates.”</p><p>            After much pushing and pulling, Joohyun finally gave up and expressed her utmost gratitude to Mama Lu. She was another motherly figure in her life despite the fact she only knew her through eating tteokbokki at her stall. Having never seen Mama Lu outside of her street chef wear and stall, they knew a lot more than necessary, so they didn’t have <em>just</em> a loyal customer-server relationship.</p><p>            “That’s very kind of you, Mama. Thank you,” said Junmyeon, grinning with sauce on the corner of his mouth.</p><p>            “Clean yourself up, boy,” Mama Lu teased. She gave him a few napkins. “I’m always happy to serve you three.”</p><p>            The soft rice cakes, the delicious homemade sauce, the delectable fish cakes. Oh, Joohyun felt like she was in heaven every time any one of the combinations entered her mouth. It tasted so good from the second it hit her tongue to comfortably warming up her tummy. This was well-deserved after not being able to eat a highly sought-after steak.</p><p>**</p><p>            Joohyun was well known for having gone on many dates with many men in Seoul. She dated stockbrokers, accountants, celebrities, college students, lawyers. Name the occupation and Joohyun was certain she had dated someone trying to make a career within that field.</p><p>            By this time, it seemed as though she had gotten through the entire list on Tinder, which was unfortunate because 99% didn’t last past the first date. The remaining 1% was fortunate enough to have a second date or more. Those were the ones Joohyun thought she would settle down with—heck, she even kissed and slept with them. But they were just nothing more than walking stubborn flesh to her.</p><p>            So, she was a little skeptical going back to the app. Comfortably lying in her bed underneath her fluffy white duvet, she swiped left and right at women this time around. Screw men, she thought. The only good men out there were already taken or gay.</p><p>            She had to say, though, that she was having a much better time so far. So many beautiful women on her screen, so many witty biographies, so many entertaining conversations. Just why was it that some men did not know how to properly talk online? And when it came to an in-person meeting, why were they <em>so</em> much more talkative than Joohyun liked?</p><p>            Whatever it was, she probably would never find out.</p><p>            The swiping came to a cease about ten minutes later. The conversations with those she last matched with could come after she got her beauty sleep.</p><p>**</p><p>            Okay, maybe some women weren’t so different.</p><p>            <em>Woman number one</em>.</p><p>            “Wow, to think that someone as pretty as you can be gay… Remarkable,” she said.</p><p>            Joohyun couldn’t say in fact that she was gay, but she knew for sure that she didn’t find this one attractive anymore.</p><p>            She pressed a button on her phone a few times, and it rang loudly not that long after.</p><p>            <em>“Joohyun, I need your help!”</em></p><p>            <em>Woman number two.</em></p><p>            “Alright, I’m going to go straight to the point. I just want to fuck,” the date boldly stated.</p><p>            “…And I’m just trying to find someone to settle with.”</p><p>            Joohyun pressed a button on her phone. It rang.</p><p>            <em>“Joohyun, help me please! I’m in trouble!”</em></p><p>            <em>Woman number three</em>.</p><p>            “So, I went on plenty of dates with celebrities, and they’re not what they portray themselves as. Can you believe that? There’s no telling how many of them are fake! Jo Insung, Wonbin, Kim Soohyun, EXO’s Kai, BTS’s Jin, Big Bang’s Daesung.” The pretty date scoffed and flipped her long, silky hair over her shoulder. “They’re so terrible.”</p><p>            “…You only dated male celebrities?”</p><p>            “Yeah?” The date said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She twirled the ends of her hair around her finger. “They’re hot.”</p><p>            A press.</p><p>            <em>Ring</em>.</p><p>            <em>“Joohyun!”</em></p><p>            And there was four, five, ten, fifteen…</p><p>            Joohyun slumped back onto her bed with a groan. This time around, Jennie and Junmyeon were in her room, observing the damsel in distress who always needed saving from terrible dates.</p><p>            “Maybe I’m not cut out for dating,” Joohyun mumbled.</p><p>            “Maybe you’re dating the wrong ones…” said Junmyeon.</p><p>            “I can’t always be dating the wrong one! What kind of luck is this!? This is some serious bullshit. They’re all the same. All of them! Literally. Every. Single. One. Of. Them!” Joohyun yelled into the ceiling. “In the end, they all just want to get into my pants because they find me pretty!”</p><p>            Jennie frowned. She sat at the edge of Joohyun’s bed and gently tapped on her knee as a means of comforting her.</p><p>            “They were a little bit better, though, right? Maybe if you try a little bit harder? I think you should continue talking with them through the app first instead of jumping into a date straight on,” reasoned Jennie.</p><p>            “Yes, they were a little better, but so what!” Joohyun tossed onto her side to be away from Jennie and Junmyeon’s eyes. “Maybe…maybe I’m not meant to love someone after all. I’m just someone to ogle at.”</p><p>            “Hey…” Junmyeon carefully started. He tiptoed onto the other side of the bed where Jennie wasn’t sitting and sat down. Joohyun’s pretty doe eyes were downcast, a finger mindlessly tracing figures on the white duvet. “That’s not true. You’re beautiful, yes, but you’re also kind, funny, talented. Anyone is lucky to have you.”</p><p>            “Thanks, Myeon, but I already know that,” Joohyun deadpanned.</p><p>            Junmyeon glanced over to Jennie, who just raised her eyebrows and tore her gaze away to avoid contact.</p><p>            “One more try,” urged Jennie.</p><p>            “No.”</p><p>            “Just one more, unnie,” continued Jennie. “It hurts us to see you like this. You want to take a break from dating, but you’re honestly not getting any younger. You’re almost hitting thirty. How much longer are you going to wait until? Are you going to wait until you’re thirty-five? What if you end up dating another man, and what if it worked out? Are you going to have kids at forty? Or what if you do end up dating a woman. It might work out, but who are you going to date? Are you going to prowl for twenty-year-olds? Or are you—”</p><p>            “Okay, <em>God</em>!” Joohyun shouted.</p><p>            Jennie sucked her lips into her mouth, attempting to not burst out into laughter. Junmyeon, on the other hand, turned around. His shoulders were shaking.</p><p>            “<em>One</em> more try,” confirmed Joohyun. “And if it doesn’t work out anymore, then screw it. I’m just going to die alone.”</p><p>            She shooed Junmyeon and Jennie out of her apartment not that long after, complaining about not getting enough sleep these days because of how restless her dates make her. And it wasn’t even the good kind of restless that she wanted either.</p><p>**</p><p>            Jennie took a glance back at Joohyun’s apartment, noticing that the lights had gone out. She turned to Junmyeon and caught up to him and climbed into his SUV.</p><p>            “Hey, wait, before you drive off,” she started, pulling out her phone.</p><p>            Junmyeon paused on the way of pressing the ignition button. He stared at what Jennie was showing him. It was an Instagram profile of a beautiful young woman slightly pouting into the camera, a hand on her head. Her hair was dark and long with the popular style of bangs that the K-Pop idols trendsetted.</p><p>            “Who’s this? She’s pretty,” he muttered. Jennie changed the setting of the feed to see only one photo at a time and swiped through a good amount of them. “She even looks like Joohyun in some angles.”</p><p>            “Kang Seulgi. 24. A KAIST graduate. Neuroscience research assistant. And…” Jennie smirked. “Chanyeol’s best <em>gay</em> friend.”</p><p>            Junmyeon’s jaw slackened at the amount of information Jennie pried out like a spy. And the best information of all saved for last.</p><p>            “No way,” he said. “I don’t know Chanyeol all that well, so I didn’t know he has a friend like her.”</p><p>            “What do you think?” asked Jennie. “Should we set Joohyun up with her?”</p><p>            “But Joohyun is going through Tinder one last time, isn’t she? What if she gets fed up again and vows to never date? Like. Ever.”</p><p>            “That doesn’t matter. Joohyun’s not going to give up. She’s too much of a wuss to age and die alone.”</p><p>            “True.”</p><p>            “Anyway, Seulgi’s a total catch. She’s super smart, pretty, funny, talented. She’s basically another copy of Joohyun. But a little cuter and a lot friendlier.”</p><p>            Junmyeon furrowed his brows. “Wouldn’t that be weird… Joohyun dating herself?”</p><p>            Jennie rolled her eyes. “I meant that they share the same general traits, but specifically, they are different. So, they may have a lot of common interests.”</p><p>            “Okay… So, what are we going to do? How are we going to get Joohyun to get on a date with her?”</p><p>            “That, you can leave it up to me,” Jennie confidently said, even going as far as hitting her chest with her small fist.</p><p>            Junmyeon chuckled. “Alright.”</p><p>**</p><p>            Joohyun was done.</p><p>            Another terrible date.</p><p>            Like, seriously, what was up with her luck?</p><p>            Jennie didn’t save her this time around, unfortunately. She was left to fend for herself, and it was difficult to do so because she didn’t have an immediate escape. However, she couldn’t sit through this anymore and upped and left.</p><p>            She decided to inform Jennie and Junmyeon about halting her dating conquest for now by video calling the group chat she had with them.</p><p>            Jennie picked up.</p><p>            “Listen,” she started, not even waiting for Junmyeon to answer the call. “I’m done. I just left my most recent date, don’t even remember her name, and I can’t believe I’m walking around in broad daylight looking like I got dumped.”</p><p>            Jennie’s face was at the bottom of her screen looking at Joohyun, who was indeed briskly pacing down some random street in Seoul. She just wanted to get away as far as possible.</p><p>            “Joohyun…that’s really the last time?”</p><p>            Joohyun rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course. Where’s Myeonnie anyway, I need to tell him this—”</p><p>            As she threw brief glances at her screen every now and then, she saw Junmyeon occupying the space above Jennie’s head. What in the world? Junmyeon and Jennie were close, yes, but what were they doing together and not telling Joohyun about it?</p><p>            “Are you guys together?” Joohyun asked. “And without me?”<br/>            “You were on a date,” said Junmyeon.</p><p>            “Yeah, we just went to grab a bite to eat after the gym,” clarified Jennie.</p><p>            Fortunately enough, Joohyun didn’t pester about it anymore. She was just a little annoyed about her latest date winding up terrible once again. Maybe she held her expectations too high this time.</p><p>            “But, yeah,” Joohyun uttered. “I’m just going to walk around a bit and head home later.”</p><p>            “Joohyun, let’s go out tonight,” urged Junmyeon.</p><p>            “From what I remembered, Junmyeon, you’re gay and I might be gay. I don’t think it’s going to work out.”</p><p>            “Not like that, dumbass.”</p><p>            “Let’s go to an amusement park!” Jennie said excitedly. “We all need to wind down a little, so let’s just have a little fun tonight. The three of us.”</p><p>            Junmyeon rapidly agreed to the friendly date whereas Joohyun didn’t seem like she had a choice. Those two were the best when it came to rescuing her and making sure she didn’t combust out of anger.</p><p>            “Alright. Pick me up.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Joohyun didn’t expect anything out of tonight. It was just going to be her, Jennie, and Junmyeon at the amusement park enjoying a great time. They all knew she was afraid of anything remotely scary or related to heights, so she didn’t have to worry about her anxious, little heart.</p><p>            A churro sounded good.</p><p>            She might start with that first.</p><p>            “Ah… guys,” Jennie murmured out of nowhere.</p><p>            They were heading to the entrance of the park with Jennie leading the way until she had turned around, halting Joohyun and Junmyeon in their tracks.</p><p>            “Sorry, I forgot to mention,” Jennie said, “but I have a friend who has connections she can get us in for free. The only thing is that she has to join us.”</p><p>            Junmyeon stole a glance at Joohyun to observe her reaction. “I don’t mind,” he said.</p><p>            “Which friend is this?” Joohyun warily asked.</p><p>            “Uh…she’s actually a friend of a friend!” Jennie corrected. “But don’t worry, she’s super chill and fun to hang out with!”</p><p>            “Yeah, but wh—”</p><p>            “Jennie!”</p><p>            All three heads whirled to the direction of where the pretty voice came from. Jogging towards them was a young woman dressed in jean short shorts, a black crop top, and an oversized plaid flannel, illustrating a toned midriff. Once she got closer, she embraced Jennie in a friendly hug and gazed at Junmyeon and Joohyun in their eyes.</p><p>            “Hi, I’m Seulgi!” she greeted with a bright grin, sticking out her hand for a shake.</p><p>            Junmyeon took her hand politely and introduced himself as well whereas…Joohyun…</p><p>            <em>Joohyun</em>?</p><p>            Joohyun was starstruck.</p><p>            Seulgi’s hand was awkwardly hanging in the air, waiting for Joohyun’s hand to join hers, but the latter was blankly staring at her.</p><p>            “Joohyun,” Jennie hissed.</p><p>            Said woman snapped out of her trance and awkwardly laughed. “S-Sorry, I’m Joohyun,” she finally greeted and shook Seulgi’s hand.</p><p>            “Let’s go!”</p><p>            Truth be told, Seulgi did have connections to the amusement park and was able to get them all in for free. This connection? Joohyun wasn’t sure what it was, but she didn’t find it in herself to ask. She loved free stuff anyway.</p><p>            When Joohyun thought was going to be a comfortable, friendly night turned out to be somewhat uncomfortable. She felt as though she had to always be on high alert of what she said and how she acted with Seulgi in the mix now. Calm down, she thought, it’s not like you’re on a date.</p><p>            Unfortunately, Jennie and Junmyeon didn’t seem to care enough to read her body language. Joohyun was left alone majority of the time with Seulgi.</p><p>            It wasn’t like Seulgi didn’t know how to communicate. In fact, she knew how to talk very well. She listened well, allowed time for Joohyun to respond, and diligently asked her some personal questions, too. She wasn’t even a date, but socially interacting with this stranger was already the best she had for the past four months.</p><p>            “So…how do you know Jennie?” Joohyun asked Seulgi.</p><p>            “Ah, I met her through my best friend,” Seulgi replied. “We were all at a party together and it just so happened that it was only us three and a few others we were hanging out with the entire time.</p><p>            “What about you? Jennie and Junmyeon seem very close to you.”</p><p>            Joohyun smiled as she recollected the memories she had with her two best friends. “Honestly, I don’t even remember when I first met them, but yes, we are very close. We all met each other in college for sure because of a club we were in. Junmyeon and I were graduating, but Jennie just entered college as a freshman.”</p><p>             Seulgi nodded along to what Joohyun was saying until she blurted out, “Your voice is really soothing.”</p><p>            That…was the first time Joohyun had ever heard that. And frankly, it was different and appreciated to hear compared to the other compliments based on her physical appearance.</p><p>            She stared at Seulgi a little incredulously, eyes wide and brows furrowed because she was still a little confused as to why that statement suddenly came out.</p><p>            “E-Excuse me?”</p><p>            Seulgi’s eyes were frantic and she waved her hands at Joohyun. “Sorry! Oh, my God, I have a terrible habit of saying what’s on my mind. <em>Ah, shit…she’s creeped out</em>.”</p><p>            The last part was said in a whisper, but Joohyun heard it all. It was actually adorable witnessing this flustered mess.</p><p>            “Thank you,” she said.</p><p>            “Eh?”</p><p>            A genuine and gentle smile appeared. “It’s the first time I’ve heard that.”</p><p>            “O-Oh,” Seulgi mumbled, rubbing the nape of her neck. “It was sudden. I’m sorry.”</p><p>            Joohyun shook her head. “It’s fine. You’re cute.”</p><p>            Oh.</p><p>            She didn’t mean to say that. It was supposed to stay in her head!</p><p>            “What?”</p><p>            “I-I mean—” Joohyun sighed. Now she was the flustered mess. “You’re cute. That’s what I said.”</p><p>            Seulgi’s hand didn’t leave her nape. Instead, she rubbed it a little more and slightly turned her head away from Joohyun, but the latter was able to catch sight of her lips curling.</p><p>            “Thank you,” Seulgi mumbled underneath her breath.</p><p>            “Hey!” Jennie shouted excitedly while waving her hand in the air. “Let’s go in there!”</p><p>            Seulgi and Joohyun stared at the massive structure before them. It was portrayed as a fun house from the outside.</p><p>            “Sure,” agreed Seulgi. “Joohyun?”</p><p>            Said woman nodded. “It’d be a nice break from all the roller coasters.”</p><p>            “You ride them really well, by the way,” Seulgi commented. “Seeing your hands shoot up and all.”</p><p>            Joohyun giggled, climbing up the staircase into the harmless fun house. “It was fun! You know, I’m actually afraid of heights, but I like roller coasters.”</p><p>            “Really? I wonder how that came about.”</p><p>            “I think it’s because I’m in an enclosed, protected space,” said Joohyun.</p><p>            The four of them passed through the first stage of the fun house, which was the typical mirror room. In order to escape this stage, one would have to find the correct mirror to push through and enter another room, which was stage two. Due to team effort, Junmyeon effortlessly found the mirror and waved them all into the dark room.</p><p>            They passed through black curtains with a blue footlight acting as their guidance. Junmyeon was in the front leading the way down the narrow hallway, then it was Jennie, Joohyun, and Seulgi in that order.</p><p>            “This hallway is long,” Jennie noted. “Are we going the right way, Myeon?”</p><p>            “Of course,” Junmyeon said. He was able to lead them out of the hallway into a more spacious area, but the atmosphere felt eerie. “This is where the haunted house begins.”</p><p>            “WHAT?!” Joohyun shouted.</p><p>            Three of them jumped in shock at her high, piercing voice.</p><p>            “What the HELL did you just say, JUNMYEON!?” Joohyun yelled once more.</p><p>            Junmyeon carefully turned around to see a shriveled Joohyun, glaring at him with the biggest eyes he had ever seen on her.</p><p>            “I-I said this is where the h-haunted house—”</p><p>            “HAUNTED HOUSE!!?” Joohyun spun around quickly, looking up near the ceiling for the familiar green exit sign. That was the only thing providing her comfort. But to no avail, she couldn’t find it. “Where’s the exit!? Get me out!”</p><p>            “There’s no exit at the beginning,” Seulgi mumbled, evidently taken aback by Joohyun’s boisterous outburst. “There’s only two, one at the middle and at the end.”</p><p>            “What kind of maniac didn’t think to put one at the beginning!?” cried Joohyun.</p><p>            “Did you not know we were going into a haunted house?” asked Jennie. “It said it underneath the ‘Fun House’ sign.”</p><p>            “I’m going to pee my pants…” Joohyun wept to herself more than anything, but they all heard it.</p><p>            “Gross,” Junmyeon remarked. “Sorry, Joohyun, but we’re going to have to push through. At least to the middle.”</p><p>            “I really hate you all…”</p><p>            Joohyun didn’t fail to amaze the other three. She truly was the most scared one out of the group, high-pitched screams reverberating off the walls of the haunted house. Those who were attempting to scare her covered their ears at her impact. Seulgi, as well, found herself getting frightened more by Joohyun’s screams than the petrifying activities instead.</p><p>            What was learned in the midst of screaming and running was that Joohyun was also very clingy. She found slight comfort hiding behind anything—didn’t matter what it was as long as it wasn’t something that was trying to scare her. Most of the time she was clinging onto Jennie from behind, but there was one particular terrifying exhibit where Joohyun was forced to be detached from Jennie.</p><p>            The group had split apart and they didn’t even reach the middle of the haunted house yet.</p><p>            “W-What!? Where’s Jennie!?” Joohyun shrieked. “Junmyeon!?”</p><p>            Junmyeon and Jennie, who were in the front, were nowhere to be found anymore. The dark green lights shining down on them didn’t help with her poor vision as she squinted to look for her two friends.</p><p>            “Seulgi!?” she called out as well, turning around and screaming when there was looming figure towering over her small stature.</p><p>            “It’s me, it’s me!” Seulgi exclaimed.</p><p>            Joohyun held a hand to her chest and panicked. She breathed in and out, slowly, a few more times, and finally took the time to scan Seulgi from head to toe to make sure it was really her. At least they were in a spot where there shouldn’t be someone or something trying to scare them.</p><p>            “Sorry, Seulgi, but I really, really hate scary things,” she mumbled.</p><p>            Her body shook like a feather; her knees were like jelly. Her feet couldn’t move.</p><p>            “It’s okay, I’m here,” Seulgi said, acting like her knight in shining armor. “Would you like me to lead?”</p><p>            “Please… I just want to get out of here. I can barely see a thing.” Seulgi nodded and carefully stepped in front of Joohyun. Before she could take another step, Joohyun pulled onto the back of her flannel. “Wait, sorry. Can I hold onto you? Please?”</p><p>            Seulgi smiled at her amid all this chaos. “Of course. Just stay close.”</p><p>            With the granted permission, Joohyun stood as close to Seulgi’s back as possible, holding onto her hips.</p><p>            After they were settled and breathing as normally as they could in this setting, Seulgi deliberately began to make her way to the exit. No rash actions could be made, lest she wanted her ear drums to burst.</p><p>            It was a wonderful situation to be with Seulgi instead of Jennie and Junmyeon because the newcomer barely screamed. Seulgi would yelp every now and then and jolt in fright, but she wasn’t actively voicing out her fear like Jennie and Junmyeon would. Jennie would scream her head off and Junmyeon would be spooked and fall to the ground.</p><p>            This meant Joohyun wouldn’t be additionally scared by Seulgi’s shouts, and she knew with a tap of Seulgi’s hand onto hers and a shock of her body that there was something to fear. Her face would burrow into Seulgi’s back to avoid looking at whatever Seulgi saw.</p><p>            “We’re almost there, Joohyun,” Seulgi informed with a gentle and soothing voice.</p><p>            How she managed a stable and soft tone during this chaotic situation was beyond Joohyun, but it had some slight comfort onto her rapidly beating heart. As long as she continued to hold onto Seulgi from behind and avoid looking at anything from either side of her, she would be fine.</p><p>            They were finally nearing the exit. When Seulgi made a quick few steps toward the green sign, a person with a white sheet covering them from head to toe suddenly rushed at them with a chainsaw. Joohyun heard that familiar cranking sound of chainsaw, her heartbeat increasing incredibly fast, her fingers digging into Seulgi’s hips. She squealed when Seulgi loudly gasped and sidestepped the person with the chainsaw, pressing Joohyun back against a wall. Seulgi’s hands reached back around to hold onto Joohyun’s thighs.</p><p>            Thankfully, the person with the chainsaw’s only task was to come out, whirr up the chainsaw, and dash forward. Whatever sidestepping occurred was to be avoided, and Seulgi did just that.</p><p>            “It’s okay, they’re gone,” assured Seulgi.</p><p>            She hadn’t realized she crushed Joohyun into a wall and held her quite intimately. At that realization, she quickly stepped forward, turning around to assess her new friend.</p><p>            “S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to do that.”</p><p>            Joohyun was such a hot mess. Her usually kempt hair was splayed all about and she kept whimpering at the slightest noises.</p><p>            She shook her head, signaling that it was no big deal to Seulgi. As she carefully lifted her gaze to look at her surroundings, she found her one and only true savior out of this haunted mess—the exit door with a worker standing in front to guide them out.</p><p>            “Oh, thank God,” she mumbled.</p><p>            Joohyun’s hand found its way to Seulgi’s, rapidly dashing down through the black curtains. Yes! Noises of children and adults! Voices of booth workers! Screams of patrons on the roller coaster! Joohyun had never felt so happy to hear those sounds instead of the dead silence hanging in her ears and the occasional creaks and cranks.</p><p>            Joohyun was leading the way this time, going far, far away as possible from the fun turned haunted house. She couldn’t believe she didn’t pay attention enough to the sign. Actually, she was more in disbelief that Jennie and Junmyeon didn’t tell her straight up before they entered. They both knew she was the most scaredy cat of them all!</p><p>            When they had reached the middle of the amusement park by a restroom, Joohyun turned around to look at Seulgi, whose hand she was still holding. Her eyes trailed down to the soft hand, and without comprehending the situation fully, she quickly released the hold.</p><p>            “Sorry! Bad habit…”</p><p>            Seulgi laughed adorably. “Don’t worry about it. You gave me quite the fright back there.”</p><p>            Joohyun crossed her arms, jutting out her lower lip. “What’s unbelievable is Jennie and Junmyeon plotting against me. Those two are up to no good, I just know it.”</p><p>            “Why would that be the case?” Seulgi innocently asked. “It’s a little mean that they’d bring you into a haunted house knowing that you easily get scared.”</p><p>            Joohyun shrugged and clung onto Seulgi’s arm. By this point, it became second nature to hold onto Seulgi, and the latter didn’t mind either.</p><p>            “They like to mess around, but I’m going to give them a good beating once they get out,” she firmly said.</p><p>            But…Jennie and Junmyeon hadn’t come out yet. At least, not from the exit in the middle of the haunted house. Joohyun huffed a sigh and turned to look at Seulgi.</p><p>            “They’re probably going through the entire haunted house,” she informed.</p><p>            “As long as they like it, I guess.” Seulgi shrugged and scanned her surroundings. They were probably in the middle of the park with food vendors and a seating area nearby. “Do you want to grab something to eat while we wait?”</p><p>            “Sure!”</p><p>**</p><p>            Joohyun and Seulgi opted for a light snack instead of a full meal, thinking they could indulge in something much less expensive with Jennie and Junmyeon at a restaurant outside of the amusement park. Speaking of the other two, they were still nowhere to be found and they hadn’t contacted the group chat they had with Joohyun. Joohyun would glance at her phone every now and then, hoping to get a message from either of the two to inform of their haunted house completion, but there was nothing. They still didn’t reply to her message asking about their whereabouts either.</p><p>            “Are they okay?” Seulgi asked, dusting her hands free from crumbs with a napkin.</p><p>            “They should be,” Joohyun muttered, then she sighed. “This is not like them.”</p><p>            “Should we head back to the area and check?”</p><p>            Joohyun nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. Sorry, Seulgi. You just met me, but now you’re stuck with me and not with someone you know like Jennie.”</p><p>            “No, no! Don’t worry about it! You’ve been very fun to be with, believe it or not.”</p><p>            “Yeah, I bet.” Joohyun rolled her eyes, but it was more at herself than at the beautiful woman before her. “I’ve only been screaming my head off since we’ve met.”</p><p>            Seulgi still didn’t mind the fact, if her smiling from ear to ear was of any indication. They stood up from one of the picnic tables sparsely located around the amusement park to head back to the area around the haunted house. Jennie and Junmyeon should have long finished their round by now. Seriously, once Joohyun saw them again, she was going to give them a piece of her mind. Maybe slap them around a little bit for pulling something like this.</p><p>            “In all honesty, Joohyun, it’s fine,” Seulgi reassured. “It has been quite a while since I last went to an amusement park, too, so I’m glad I was able to join you and your friends.”</p><p>            “I’m glad, then,” Joohyun concluded, smiling up at Seulgi.</p><p>            So, Jennie and Junmyeon were nowhere to be found again.</p><p>            Seriously, where were those pranksters of Joohyun’s?</p><p>            Joohyun pulled out her phone from her pocket to furiously tap down on her keyboard to message the group chat. They hadn’t even read her previous messages!</p><p>            “Ugh, this is kind of mean of them to leave us alone like this,” Joohyun grumbled. When she turned to look up at Seulgi and noticed that she had a somewhat solemn expression displayed, she quickly thought the worst. “I mean! Not that I don’t like being with you, but it’s just that you barely know me… I feel like if I was in your spot, I would be more comfortable with Jennie around since you know her the best.”</p><p>            Seulgi only laughed, though, which eased up almost all of Joohyun’s guilt. “I’m telling you, it’s fine. I’m sure they’re okay. We’re at an amusement park anyway, so what’s the worst that could happen? We would’ve heard or seen a commotion if anything.”</p><p>            Joohyun still couldn’t help but feel bad, but she sighed and nodded anyway.</p><p>            “Would you like to do something in the meantime while we wait for a reply?”</p><p>            “What do you want to do?”</p><p>            “Hmm.” Seulgi gradually spun around in a circle to survey her surroundings at the attractions before them. “Just to chill out a little more, we can play some of the arcade games.”</p><p>            “Okay, sure!”</p><p>**</p><p>            Despite her competitive spirit, Joohyun was kind of <em>terrible</em> at these arcade games, especially the shooting ones. Seulgi, on the other hand, wasn’t that much better than her, but she was still winning when it was between the two of them. The competitiveness inside couldn’t help but keep burning hotter and hotter, leading her to exert all her strength and determination in the other mini games they would play.</p><p>            “Ah! I won again!” Seulgi exclaimed, still in disbelief she was able to throw the first baseball and hit down the tower of metal bottles.</p><p>            Joohyun, on the other hand, only got the top four bottles. With <em>all</em> three balls. Gritting her teeth, she thought, <em>Damn, I really suck right now</em>. She was just not having it today. First with Jennie and Junmyeon pranking her and now terribly playing the arcade mini games that she used to be decent at. Both of which she was in the presence of a beautiful stranger. It was a little embarrassing, Joohyun was not going to lie, having felt so exposed on the first night of meeting.</p><p>She tended to deliver the greatest first impressions, if her many first dates hitting her up a few days after for a potential second date said anything about it. She learned to present herself as someone who was poised, elegant, enigmatic. Just enough to keep them wanting for more. But now? She wasn’t so sure if Seulgi even wanted to see her again after this night despite the latter claiming that it was totally acceptable for her to act in such a fashion.</p><p>“Here you are.”</p><p>Seulgi gratefully received her plush prize from the game master. She swiveled on her feet to glance at a bitter Joohyun, smiling at the sight at her grumbling expression.</p><p>“Better luck next time, huh?” she teased.</p><p>Oh, that did it.</p><p>“We’re playing one more!”</p><p>Joohyun clamped her hand down onto Seulgi’s wrist to drag her to one of the arcade games they had not played it. She was confident in the next one; she would totally win this.</p><p>“Oh, ring toss?” Seulgi noted.</p><p>“A game you will <em>definitely</em> lose at.” Joohyun smirked at her, handing a few dollar bills to the game master without looking at them. She received a bucket of rings in return.</p><p>“I’m amazed your confidence hasn’t dropped one bit from how much you lost against me.”</p><p>“Oh, we’re going to do that now?”</p><p>“Of course, Miss Competitive Joohyun.” Seulgi grinned after she got her bucket of rings. They both faced the game play area before them, staring at the rows and rows of glass bottles waiting to have rings around their bottlenecks. “How about this—you <em>finally</em> win this game and I’ll get you a nice treat.”</p><p>“Hmph, I don’t need a bet to know that I’ll win against you at this game.”</p><p>Seulgi chuckled at how Joohyun turned her nose up with her eyes closed. “C’mon.”</p><p>Joohyun opened her eyes and said, “Alright, fine.”</p><p>“What do I get in return?”</p><p>“Nothing because <em>you</em> made this bet.” The smirk was playing on Joohyun’s lips again.</p><p>“Aw, c’mon~” Seulgi whined.</p><p>Joohyun kept her smile at the sight and shook her head. “I’ll get you a nice treat, too.”</p><p>“Cool!” Seulgi bounced lightly on her feet. With one hand holding the bucket of rings and the other hand swooping in to hold one, she faced the bottles once again. “Ready?”</p><p>“Ready as ever.”</p><p>After that, Seulgi threw her first ring, then her second, then her third. All of which were not able to land properly on the bottleneck. Joohyun carefully watched from her peripheral. She hadn’t tossed any rings yet. Instead, she was simply observing for tactics, trying to forge up a plan of her own.</p><p>Let’s see…</p><p>There were twenty rings in this bucket. She needed to toss five rings and have them circle around the bottlenecks for a small prize. Ten for a medium prize. All twenty for their largest prize. But it wasn’t about prizes at this point, it was about beating Seulgi at how many rings she would be able to toss in. She needed a solid game plan…</p><p>One of which might shock everyone around her.</p><p>“Hey,” she called the game master, but garnered Seulgi’s attention as well. “Watch this.”</p><p>One hand at the bottom of the bucket, the other hand curled around the rim. She heaved it up and down and up and down and tossed <em>all</em> the rings at once into the middle of the bottles. The loud commotion of plastic clanking against glass caused almost everyone to wince, even Joohyun, but she was hopping up and down when she saw around ten rings rapidly circling around the bottle necks.</p><p>Seulgi stood stunned. She was on her last two rings that she had been tossing individually.</p><p>“Isn’t that cheating!?” she exclaimed.</p><p>Joohyun stuck her tongue out at her. “Where are the rules that said I couldn’t do that?”</p><p>“She’s right…” the game master mumbled. They grabbed a pole with a hook attached at the end of it to unhook a medium-sized plush hanging from their tent. “Here you go.”</p><p>“’Twas a bold move, miss,” Seulgi complimented. She tossed her last two rings, which missed. It left her with a small plush in the end. “Guess I have to treat you now.”</p><p>The endearing smile stayed on Joohyun’s face, giddy at the fact that she was finally able to best Seulgi, who wasn’t even that good in the first place, at one of the arcade games. See, it hurt her pride a little bit.</p><p>“You want an actual treat or should I try to win you another plush?” Seulgi asked, cradling her two plushies against her own body.</p><p>“Hmm, let’s do another plush. I’m not that hungry yet.”</p><p>Seulgi smiled. “You got it.”</p><p>**</p><p>            “So, when should we stop following them?”</p><p>            “Not yet, not yet. Look, they’re having so much fun together.”</p><p>            “We’ve been gone for so long already and we haven’t replied to any of Joohyun’s messages… I don’t want to see her s-scary face…!”</p><p>            “C’mon. We need to let them be for a while longer!”</p><p>            Junmyeon grumbled. He relieved himself from the position of towering over Jennie from behind, the two of them hiding behind a tree to stare at Joohyun and Seulgi hanging around at the arcade game section of the amusement park.</p><p>            “I know we mainly did this for Joohyun, but I wanna play some games, too…” he muttered.</p><p>            “Stop whining!” Jennie exclaimed, turning around to shoot him a deadly glare. Junmyeon gulped and looked away. “This is for our girl’s long-term happiness, okay? We got in here for free anyway, so it’s not like we’re wasting any money.”</p><p>            Junmyeon groaned and groused, “Fine… What are we hoping for anyway. It’s not like they’re gonna get together by the end of the night.”</p><p>            “We’re hoping for a future,” replied Jennie. She moved away from the tree to stealthily move to another one up ahead, trying to keep her vision on Joohyun and Seulgi. Junmyeon scrambled after Jennie and hid behind her small body. “If they have a good time tonight, then that means there’s a chance they’ll exchange numbers before we all leave, go on more dates in the future, and then <em>bam</em>! Girlfriend and girlfriend.”</p><p>            “You’re so sure that Joohyun’s going to like Seulgi.”</p><p>            Jennie rolled her eyes. “<em>Everyone</em> likes Seulgi, okay. Joohyun’s not immune to her.”</p><p>            Junmyeon shrugged. “I guess.”</p><p>            “Like, everyone either wants to be her or be with her,” Jennie continued. “But I know Joohyun’s going to want to be on <em>top</em> of her.”</p><p>            “Yeah, totally, Joohyun’s going to want to be on to—wait, what?”</p><p>            While Junmyeon stood confused, Jennie witnessed the sight of Joohyun hopping up and down and crushing Seulgi into a tight hug when she won the arcade game they were at. After Seulgi got the prize to hand to Joohyun, the latter embraced her once more and headed elsewhere with their arms linked now.</p><p>            “Oh! We have to move!” Jennie informed, grabbing onto still confused Junmyeon’s wrist to drag him in her mission of following Joohyun and Seulgi.</p><p>**</p><p>            “This teddy bear is <em>so</em> cute,” Joohyun pointed out, playing around with the round ears of the brown bear plush that Seulgi just won for her.</p><p>            Seulgi peered down below to observe the sight. She smiled and agreed, “Yeah.”</p><p>            “Oh, I need to check if they read my messages.”</p><p>            They came to a halt in the middle of the amusement park. Joohyun was checking her phone while Seulgi stood in front of her to scan her surroundings.</p><p>            “Hm…really?” Joohyun almost rolled her eyes. Jennie and Junmyeon both saw her messages, but only Junmyeon replied. “Junmyeon had a stomachache and was in the toilet this whole time.”</p><p>            “For real? What did he eat before this?”</p><p>            “We all went to this café together before coming here… He didn’t eat food, but only had a drink,” said Joohyun. She thought back a little more. “Yeah, why would he have a stomachache?”</p><p>            While Joohyun was typing back a reply, Seulgi was visibly pondering on the matter. It had been a good hour since they went to the fun turned haunted house. Before then, Junmyeon didn’t show any physical signs of suffering from a stomachache, nor complained that his tummy felt a little funny. In fact, he was laughing and messing around a lot. Joohyun said that they all practically ordered the same base drinks, too, so if he was suffering in the toilet right now, then that meant Jennie and Joohyun should be as well. Unless…Junmyeon just had a weak stomach…</p><p>            “Jennie’s okay?” Seulgi asked.</p><p>            “Yeah, she said she was just waiting for Junmyeon.”</p><p>            “Does he have a weak stomach or something?”</p><p>            Joohyun scoffed. “Hell no. That man eats trash sometimes and is completely fine after.”</p><p>            Ah.</p><p>            Then, in that case…</p><p>            Seulgi, with the plushies tucked underneath her arm, slightly struggled to scratch her head. “I think I know what they’re doing…”</p><p>            Joohyun finally peered up from her phone and raised a brow at Seulgi. “What do you mean?”</p><p>            “They’re leaving us alone on purpose,” explained Seulgi, and laughed nervously. “Uh… They might be setting us up.”</p><p>            “W-What!?”</p><p>            “Oh, that was a little straightforward…”</p><p>            “Why would they do that?”</p><p>            “Um, I’m not sure…” Seulgi muttered. “Though, I do remember Jennie asking if I was single before she asked to get in for free here. I thought she was hitting on me until I remembered she has a boyfriend.”</p><p>            Jennie.</p><p>            That rascal.</p><p>            Of <em>course</em> she would pull something like this! Joohyun had a little more faith in Junmyeon though. But that man could easily be strung along in situations.</p><p>            “Oh! I think I see them.”</p><p>            “Where, where?”</p><p>            Joohyun spun around on her heels to the direction of where Seulgi was pointing. And truth be told, it definitely was Jennie and Junmyeon, pathetically hiding behind a tree. Jennie was small and she wouldn’t have been able to notice her. It was Junmyeon she noticed first, the edgy man standing up straight and tall and acting a little frantic until Jennie pulled him down to her level so he could hide with her.</p><p>            Seulgi took a step forward to reunite with the other two, but Joohyun quickly pulled her back.</p><p>            “Joohyun?”</p><p>            “I think you’re right,” Joohyun said. “But I’m not going to let them get away from this unscathed.”</p><p>            “…What do you plan on doing?”</p><p>            Joohyun’s unsettling smirk appeared once more. She turned and looked up at Seulgi, who was gazing at her with slightly widened eyes.</p><p>            “A prank on the pranksters. Let’s go!”</p><p>            For the nth time that night, her hand comfortably enclosed around Seulgi’s wrist to quickly drag her to a random direction. Wherever she went, she knew Jennie and Junmyeon would follow. Hurling a glance behind her shoulder, she concluded she was right—the two were scrambling after her since Joohyun was suddenly speedy in her tracks.</p><p>            Joohyun led them to one of the far corners of the amusement park where there were barely any patrons due to the lack of attractions. It was a beautiful resting area accompanied by large trees and blooming flowers though, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary to be here. A massive oak tree sat in the middle, surrounded by flower bushes of all kinds. It was closed off with magnificent iron gates. Because it was nighttime, the resting area was decorated in twinkling lights, wrapping around the trunks of trees and the rails of the gates. Joohyun led Seulgi around to the back and sat down on one of the benches.</p><p>            “What are we doing here?” asked Seulgi.</p><p>            Joohyun faced the clueless young woman, adoring the sight of her confused expression. “Seulgi, I’m a failure at dates.”</p><p>            Seulgi sat stunned at the abrupt information. “Um…okay?”</p><p>            “Okay, that came out a little differently in my head. Well, I went on <em>so, so</em> many dates within these past few months, all of which have failed. I don’t know if it’s because of me with my high standards or if it’s because I’m choosing to go on dates with the wrong people, but because of that, I decided to give up on dating,” Joohyun continued to explain. “But Jennie and Junmyeon don’t want me to give up.”</p><p>            “And…that’s why I’m here.”</p><p>            Joohyun grimaced and nodded. “I’m sorry if you’re here not on your own accord…or that you’re not looking to date anyone. Do you…do you even like…girls?”</p><p>            “I do,” Seulgi said, and smiled reassuringly.</p><p>            It was oddly intimate during this moment of running and hiding away from Jennie and Junmyeon. The calming atmosphere accompanied with the beautiful scenery of sparkling lights and lovely flowers. The lack of lighting painted a stunning glow on one side of Seulgi’s face, accentuating certain parts of her facial features. With the twinkling garden lights reflecting sparkles off of Seulgi’s brown eyes, it was one of the features that Joohyun only saw. Alongside the pretty curve of her lips.</p><p>            “T-That’s good!” Joohyun squeaked.</p><p>            “Do you?”</p><p>            Joohyun gazed at Seulgi’s gorgeous face once more. It was hard not to look away from something so attractive, so alluring. Joohyun found many individuals in her life attractive before, but this was one of the few times she caught herself starstruck and ogling for longer than necessary.</p><p>            “I think I do,” she mumbled, then her reverie was snapped at the loud crunches of leaves on the ground.</p><p>            It might be Jennie and Junmyeon finally catching up to them.</p><p>            Seulgi glanced around before her until her gaze settled onto Joohyun, who was standing up from the bench.</p><p>            “After we’re done with…whatever we’re doing, can I get your number?”</p><p>            “H-Huh?” Joohyun was caught off guard again. “I mean, yes! Sure! Of course.”</p><p>            She totally forgot her plan to get back at Jennie and Junmyeon.</p>
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